My jacket would be single-breasted, but with peak lapels, a combination which I find has the advantage of combining coolness with a hint of gravitas. There would be three buttons on the front and four buttons to each cuff (all working).There would be a buttonhole in the left lapel. At the back would be one vent. The trousers would have turn-ups, two front pleats on either side, a button fly, straight side pockets, no back pockets and a back shaped for braces. The braces buttons would be inside at the back (to protect the leather of the Royce, when I drive without a jacket) and outside at the front.

I asked that the stripes should match over the shoulders and in the lapels. I am aware that my liking for matching stripes is a matter of some controversy, and that some tailors have suggested that I am promoting a style which distorts the jacket. My reply is that matching stripes give a more harmonious appearance and that, for my body at least, no compromise in the fit has ever been discernible. Perhaps it is that I only go to tailors – like Henry Poole & Co. – who are so good that they can achieve the impossible…

Soon it was time for the first fitting (pictured, in the fitting room). And there, I was delighted to see, were my matching stripes. Mr Alexander explained that they had been achieved with even greater difficulty than usual, for the material did not have the ‘give’ of heavier cloths. Still, there they were, and they looked jolly fine. Adjustments were needed to the length of the left arm, the back shoulders and the length of the legs. At the second fitting, it was decided to lengthen the right arm by ¼ inch and take ³/8 inch off the trouser length. At the third fitting, Mr Alexander – ever the perfectionist, thank goodness – decided that the stitching on the fly was too tight and that the left shoulder was still not quite right. And then, a week later, all was perfection.

I ought to emphasize the importance of what some might think trivial changes during the course of these fittings. A Savile Row suit must fit properly, or it is not worthy of the name, and a proper fit will often require several visits. Indeed, it is beyond my belief that anyone would be allowed to leave Henry Poole & Co. with a suit which was in any way less than perfect. Mr Alexander and his colleagues would, I know, be outraged even at the suggestion of so heinous a crime against sartorial standards.

And so I have my summer suit from Henry Poole & Co. Light, elegant and stylish, it will grace the salons of The Ritz in London and of the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo. Indeed, my suit would be at home anywhere, for it was made by one of the best tailors in the world, in the street which still reigns supreme as the home of the finest in gentlemen’s bespoke tailoring – Savile Row.